5 Month Old Sleep Schedule

Each new week and month brings more exciting milestones your baby is ready to show you. Just remember, milestones are based on ranges, and some babies will meet them early while others will need more time. So if your five month old isn’t experiencing all of these milestones, know those moments could be right around the corner.

At five months old, most babies start to:

• Easily roll in both directions when playing on the floor

• Get stronger sitting upright while supported

• Move items back and forth between their hands as hand-eye coordination improves

• Try to mimic facial expressions

• Show some interest in solid foods adults are eating

• Respond to what they see and hear with their own sounds: babbling, cooing, and squealing!

If you have any concerns about your baby meeting their milestones, make sure to speak to your pediatrician.

Five months old are noticing so much around them and are starting to become quite interactive.

Here is a list of ideas for activities you can do with your five month old:

• Talk a walk and narrate the walk – What do you see? What do you hear?

• Have a pacifier lover? Try the Binky Game!

• Spend some time in front of the mirror making different facial expressions.

• Have lots of floor time to help encourage rolling and sitting upright while supported.

• Give your little one a shoebox with random (non-choking hazard) objects: tennis ball, cup, bells, ribbon, etc. 

• Play peek-a-boo!

We’re aiming for 3 naps a day at five months old. If your baby is taking more than 3 naps a day because naps are short, this is a great time to check those wake windows. We want to make sure your five month old is tired enough, but not overtired, heading into a nap. I have a great free resource, 5 Daytime Tips for Better Nights (and Naps!), that can help.

Our goal for daytime sleep is 3-4 hours total, divided over 3 naps.

How will this look? It can vary from baby to baby and from day to day. One day, it could be a 2-hour nap, a 1-hour nap, and a 30-minute nap. The next day, it could be two naps lasting 1.5 hours each and a 45 minute nap later in the afternoon. The way the naps divide is less important than the total napping hours and those age-appropriate wake windows.

If you’re wondering how anyone gets to 3 napping hours in a day, I can help! Start by reading my blog on short naps and know that my Conquering Naps class provides step-by-step, detailed guidance on all things daytime sleep.

We do want to keep the total daytime sleep under 4 hours. I would also encourage you to cap any one nap at 2 hours. Yes, this means you may have to wake a sleeping baby! As a baby sleep expert, I’m letting you know this is okay and sometimes necessary. 

Why is this necessary?